Car-coupling



-(No Model.) v

H. RUPPERT.

GAR GOUPLING.

Patented May 12,1891.

f NrTED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

HENRY RUPPERT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 452,067, dated May 12, 1891.

Application filed October 27, 1890. Serial No. 369,399. (No inodel.)

To LZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that l, HENRY RUrPERT, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Couplers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of car-couplers in which the link is held in position by a manually-operated support for guiding the link into the opposing draw-head in the act of coupling the cars together. In all such devices, of course, it is necessary that the immediate support for the link should rise to a plane between the draw-head 5 and prior to this invention, so far as Iam aware, all these devi-ces have been dependent upon the alertness and prompt-ness of the brakeman or other attendant to withdraw them from between the draw-heads after the link has entered the opposing draw-head, in order to save them from being crushed and bent beyond usefulness between the draw-heads, which come together with considerable force in coupling.

The prime object of this invention is to have a support for the link which will automatically move from between the draw-heads as they come together in coupling, whereby all danger of injury to the support and its operating devices is avoided.

Another object is to have a knockdown or dropping support for the link, which will be struck by the opposing draw-head and drop from between the draw-heads after the link is properly guided into the draw-head.

A further object is to have the link-support so operatedA that when released by the operator it will automatically resume its normal position for coupling without manual manipulation, whereby the operator is relieved of the danger and necessity of going between the cars at any time, either in the coupling operation or after the coupling is effected for restoring the support to the position for eecting another coupling.

These objects are attained by the devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the end of a car showing a coupler applied thereto embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a

. eration, as illustrated in the drawings.

side elevation showing the ends of opposing cars in the act of coupling.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A indicates the draw-head, and B the link carried thereby, both of the ordinary and well-known construction of car-couplers usually employed upon freight-cars.

To the end of the car is pivotally secured by means of bearing-boxes C, a link-lifterD, formed of a bent-rod, gas-piping, or similar material, the. ends of which terminate in handles E, one at each side of the car, for manipulating the lifter, and the middle portion of which is bent outwardly from the bearing, so as to form a bail F extending around the draw-head when elevated into position to support the link. The middle portion of this bail is bent at an angle to the main body thereof, and serves as a pivot for a drop or knockdown support G, which is the immediate support of the link in the coupling op- This knockdown support is free to turn upon its pivot, and may be of any suitable construction and dimensions, but when raised to position for supporting the link it normally stands slightly olf and forward of its pivotal center, being sustained in that position by stops H at each side thereof engaging the bail, but when struck by the opposing drawhead in the act of coupling, the support will be forced back past the center and drop down out of the way upon a suitable rest I, also attached to and carried by the bail, as illustrated by the dotted line in Fig. 2.

In both figures of the drawings I have shown the link-lifter elevated and in position to support the link in the act of coupling; but the normal position of the lifter when uncontrolled by the hand of the operator is shown by the dotted lines at the left of Fig. 2, the handle assuming a horizontal position parallel with the car-body, while the bail hangs vertically from the bearings of the lifter.

In practice the operator grasps one of the handles of the lifter and draws it downward, thus elevating the bail until the link-support engages and lifts the link carried by the drawhead so as to guide it' into the opposing draw- IOO 5 posingY draw-head, so that when the two drawlieads come together the link-support is out from between them and safe from injury. When the couplinj;` is el'lected,the operator releases the handle and the bail swings down .o to its normal position, thus causing the knockdown Support for the link to fall back by gravity oft of the rest iii position for again supporting the link, so that when it is desired to eilect another coupling` it is only necessary for the operator to manipulate the handle and the link-support will rise up in proper position.

\Vitli a device of this character :ars of different heights may be as readily coupled as those of equal heights, and in all cases the support for the link will drop out from between the draw-heads safe from injury as soon as the link is fairly engaged by the opposing draw-head.

I do not desire to limit myself to the exact construction and arrangement of parts herein shown, for obviously the link-siipport inay be of diiei'ent forni, construction, and dimensions, and the stop and rest therefor may be obtained in numerous other ways, but such Variations will be no departure frein the spirit of iny invention, which, broadly stated, is a knockdown support for the link, which will fall or recede from between the draw-heads when they come together, and which will autoinatically resume its normal position after cach coupling.

Having described iny invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

l. In a car-coupler, the combination,with the link-lifter, of the knockdown support for the link carried thereby, substantially as described. l

2. In a car-ceiipler, the combination, with the llink-lifter, of a knockdown support for the link pivotally secured thereto, and a stop and rest for said support, substantially as described.

3. In a car-coupler, the combination, with the link-lifter pivotally secured to the carbody, terminating at its ends in handles, and at its center formed into a bail, of the knockdown support for the link pivotally secured to said bail and a stop and rest therefor, substantially as described.

HENRY RUPPERT. lVitnesses:

R. C. OnoHUNDRo, JAMES R. SCOTT. 

